As time goes by, you may start to question your existence. What kind of person are you and what kind of future do you have? On this journey, you may encounter difficulties because you never recognize yourself. You actually feel increasingly unfamiliar and deadlocked, triggering feelings of frustration, stress, anxiety, and even depression.
If you experience this, there are actually various alternatives that you can try to implement. One thing that is currently quite developed is art therapy. Referring to research from the University of Wisconsin, art therapy is a branch of mental health that places art and the creative process as a method for healing. This method is a means that brings improvement and increased physical, mental and emotional well-being for a person.
Art therapy is carried out to understand how color, texture and various art media which are tools can help express a person's thoughts, feelings and psychological conditions. The form can be done by drawing, painting, coloring, making crafts, and so on.
However, not just any creativity, in art therapy that involves professionals, generally there will be a therapist accompanying you. They will direct you to more specific things, for example to make clay crafts in the shape of yourself and will ask you to tell a story about the work at the end. Each element in it will help you to explore and understand elements of your life in order to increase your abilities and self-confidence.
With these activities, you may be wondering whether art therapy can only be done by those who are talented in art? The answer is no. Anyone, whether young or old, female or male, and whatever background, can benefit from this therapy. Although it involves a creative process and perhaps some techniques, that is not the main point of the therapy. The most important part of art therapy is the relationship between art and the feelings that are channeled into your work of art. So it is not the artistic value that is the main focus.
When you start to be creative, the therapist will sometimes just observe. Some of them will ask questions about how you feel about the artistic process, what is easy or difficult about creating works of art, and what thoughts or memories arise when you are creating. These questions are required before they provide observations.
So, does art therapy always involve professionals? Actually, you can do it yourself. Let's take an example with the activity of painting emotions.
First, prepare the media you need, such as watercolors or markers of at least three colors. Then, take a piece of paper or canvas if you have one. After everything is ready, maybe you will feel unsure if you can do it or will be excited to try something new. Whatever you feel, try putting it on paper. Don't think about the technique and color choices. Let your hands move and follow your subconscious. If a word or sentence comes to your mind, write it down.
When your painting is finished, observe how you feel. Now look at your work without judging it and notice what thoughts come to mind when you look at it. If you write some words, read them and take a moment to think about what they mean to you. Repeat this activity once a week or when you are feeling strong emotions. If you start to feel better changes, it can be said that the therapy is successful. However, if it hasn't affected you yet, you can do it with professional help.
So, that's an explanation of art therapy that can help you explore and recognize yourself. You may be trapped in a cycle of negative self-talk too often that you need a breakthrough to get back on track. Most of your problems can be solved if you are able to understand yourself better.